robjg63: Has anyone tried refilling the pods with their favourite roast? Found a few posts on youtube showing a few 'how tos' and a few DIY pod systems.

Have tried the ne-cap system, and found the results average.

Refilling took a lot of time and was fiddly. Cost works out (iirc) about 60 cents (for capsules+coffee). So these Warehouse pods are a good deal and produce a similar (probably better) result.

Also looked at the system where they have a stainless steel re-usable capsule. But it worked out at around 30-40 Euros per capsule. I did the math and decided to stick (at that stage) to buying up 300+ capsules of genuine Nespresso each time I go the USA.

I now declare "the 3 C's" when I arrive back in NZ.Candy, Cookies and Coffee 8-).Yes, I do get asked why on earth I'm bringing coffee into NZ when we have such good coffee - but once I explain, they send me straight out without even scanning my bags.

Picked up a couple of the warehouse sleeves today. I only ever drink flat whites so I got the mild and medium ones. I can see what people mean about closing the machine on them, the last little push is a little nerve wracking!

I have had two of the medium so far, quite like them. A little weaker than I'd like but for the price I'm more than happy to keep using them. Maybe have Nespresso for first thing in the morning though ;)

I bought a few sticks of the Lungo (Dark Roast) variants over the weekend and am reasonably impressed. They don't have quite the same bite as my preferred Nespresso Fortissio but they don't compare too badly either sort of a 95% result for 50% of the price so overall not a bad option.

My parents are Nespresso-aholics (150+ capsules per month habit :P) and they were pleasantly surprised also.

The real question is how long will The red shed stock them for? once the coffee machines are all gone will they feel the need to service their consumers on an ongoing basis? time will tell but i wouldn't hold my breath

Seeing as our Krups Expresso machine was away getting repaired we have had to resort to filter coffee recently.Saw this post on Geekzone and went up to the local Hamilton Wharehouse.Easily spotted the shelf where there was 4 types of pods. I went up to the appliance section and saw the Kensington Branded Pod Coffee machine for $199. I thought why not get this as a back up ( we used to have a Nespresso machine untill it died and I noticing the price of the pods going up a lot )

Took the machine home + 4 boxes of different strength plus a Kensington Frother machine for $79.Basically they have the same functionality as the Nespresso branded product.To cut a long story short I was also pleasantly surprised as to the taste of the coffee.So far I am impressed with the product

psychrn: Seeing as our Krups Expresso machine was away getting repaired we have had to resort to filter coffee recently.Saw this post on Geekzone and went up to the local Hamilton Wharehouse.Easily spotted the shelf where there was 4 types of pods. I went up to the appliance section and saw the Kensington Branded Pod Coffee machine for $199. I thought why not get this as a back up ( we used to have a Nespresso machine untill it died and I noticing the price of the pods going up a lot )

Took the machine home + 4 boxes of different strength plus a Kensington Frother machine for $79.Basically they have the same functionality as the Nespresso branded product.To cut a long story short I was also pleasantly surprised as to the taste of the coffee.So far I am impressed with the product

NZ Post will happily ship coffee about. Without the ability to do so, many dealers of various _other_ addictive substances would have to come up with other means to hide their products from the beagles.

Have just come from Harvey Normans where I was going to get a Nespresso U, but they now also have the Map Bella, which uses the Caffitaly System of capsules. Machine, with milk frother (same style as the Nespresso Aeroccinno - but it will apparently only make heated milk 'extras') is $349

(Replacement milk frother, if needed, was/is apparently going to be under $40!)

The Bella comes with a red interchangeable face plate, which can be replaced with one of a variety of colours that are available for purchase.

Map Caffitaly capsules are $8.50 per box of 10 capsules, available off the shelf in Harvey's.

There are only 5 different flavors at the moment, but only 4 are coffee and 1 is Belgium Chocolate. The Sales Rep in Harveys said he expected more flavors to appear down the track, but I took a look on the Harvey's Australian website and after having the Bella's for several years they still only have the same 4 coffees (and 1 chocolate) that are being offered here.

The Caffitlay capsules are a lot larger than the Nespresso and so you will get a much stronger cup of out out it - so I am told.

Has anyone had any experience with the Map Bella or their Caffitaly capsules? Comments?

(Comments on Harvey's Australian website range from "fabulous" to comments about the noise, and poor coffee consistency.)